Illinois LLC Cost: $150 Filing + $75 Annual Report (2026)

Forming an LLC in Illinois costs $150 to file the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-5.5) and $75/yr for the annual report. Multi-member LLCs taxed as partnerships also owe Illinois’s 1.5% Personal Property Replacement Tax on net income — separate from the standard state income tax. Year-one cost: $225. Five-year cost (no add-ons): $450, plus PPRT for partnerships.

Reviewed by Soft Crown Editorial Team — fact-checked against primary government sources • Last updated 2026-04-25 • 4 primary government sources cited

TL;DR

Illinois LLCs file Form LLC-5.5 with the Illinois Secretary of State for $150. The annual report is $75 due during the LLC’s anniversary month. Illinois imposes the Personal Property Replacement Tax (PPRT) — 1.5% of net income for LLCs taxed as partnerships, on top of the state’s 4.95% personal income tax for owners. Single-member LLCs taxed as disregarded entities pass through to the owner’s individual return without PPRT. Expedite is available: 24-hour for $100 additional. Filings are typically processed in 10 business days standard.

Illinois LLC cost breakdown (2026)

Line item	Cost	Source
Articles of Organization (Form LLC-5.5)	$150	ilsos.gov
Annual Report	$75	ilsos.gov
Personal Property Replacement Tax (multi-member partnership)	1.5% of net income	tax.illinois.gov
Expedited filing (24-hour)	+$100	ilsos.gov
Series LLC filing	$400	ilsos.gov
Late annual report penalty	$100	ilsos.gov
Year 1 total (single-member, no add-ons)	$225
Year 2+ ongoing (single-member)	$75
5-year total (single-member)	$525

All figures verified 2026-04-25 from primary Illinois state sources.

Why Illinois costs more than the basics suggest

Most state cost guides quote Illinois as “$150 + $75/yr.” That’s accurate for the SOS fees but misses the Personal Property Replacement Tax, which surprises multi-member founders. PPRT is a 1.5% tax on net income for LLCs taxed as partnerships, payable to the Illinois Department of Revenue. It was created in 1979 to replace personal-property taxes that local governments lost when the state phased them out. PPRT is in addition to:

• Federal income tax on the owner’s share of profits
• Illinois personal income tax (4.95% flat) on the owner’s share
• The annual report fee ($75 to the SOS)

For a multi-member LLC with $200,000 net profits split 50/50:

• PPRT: $200K × 1.5% = $3,000 (paid by the LLC)
• IL personal tax: $100K × 4.95% × 2 partners = $9,900 (paid by partners)
• Federal SE tax + income tax: depends on partner brackets

PPRT is the gotcha. Single-member LLCs taxed as disregarded entities are exempt from PPRT — they file directly on the owner’s Illinois personal return. Single-member is the common workaround.

Filing steps (DIY, no service)

1. Pick a name — search availability via ilsos.gov LLC name search. Names must include “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” or “L.L.C.”
2. Designate a registered agent — must have an Illinois street address.
3. File Form LLC-5.5 — $150 fee. File online at cyberdriveillinois.com or by mail to Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services, 501 S. Second St., Springfield, IL 62756.
4. Get a federal EIN — free at irs.gov.
5. Draft an operating agreement — not required by Illinois law but recommended.
6. Register with IDOR — Illinois Department of Revenue registration for any state tax (sales, withholding, PPRT for partnerships) via MyTax Illinois.
7. Open a business bank account — Illinois-located banks (Chase, BMO Harris, Northern Trust) accept IL LLC documents.
8. File annual report — due first day of anniversary month each year. $75 fee. $100 late penalty.
9. File FinCEN BOI report — within 30 days of formation. Free at fincen.gov/boi.
10. Calendar PPRT filing if multi-member — annual on Form IL-1065 with the IDOR.

Standard online filings via cyberdriveillinois.com are processed within 10 business days. 24-hour expedite is available for $100 additional.

Page-unique facts

• Illinois is one of 4 states allowing Series LLCs. (Along with DE, TX, WY among the popular states.) IL Series LLC filing is $400 (vs $150 for a regular LLC). Each series has separate liability shielding within the master LLC.
• PPRT is unique to Illinois. No other state has a comparable tax on partnership income. Source: tax.illinois.gov PPRT FAQ.
• Illinois flat personal income tax is 4.95% for 2026. The graduated income tax ballot initiative failed in 2020 — the flat rate has held since.
• Series LLC filings are popular for Chicago real estate. Each property held by a separate series, isolating liability without filing separate LLCs.
• Illinois biennial elections impact regulatory speed. SOS staffing fluctuates around election cycles; Q3-Q4 of even years often slowest.

Frequently asked questions

What is Illinois’s Personal Property Replacement Tax?

Illinois imposes a 1.5% tax on LLC net income for LLCs taxed as partnerships, separate from the standard state income tax. PPRT was created in 1979 to replace local personal-property taxes that were phased out. Single-member LLCs taxed as disregarded entities pass through to the owner’s personal return and avoid PPRT. Multi-member partnerships pay 1.5% at the entity level, then partners pay individual income tax on their distributive share. Source: tax.illinois.gov, verified 2026-04-25.

When is the Illinois LLC annual report due?

First day of the LLC’s anniversary month. So if you formed in March 2026, the 2027 annual report is due March 1, 2027. Late filing penalty: $100. Failure to file by 60 days after due date triggers administrative dissolution. Source: cyberdriveillinois.com.

Can I expedite Illinois LLC filing?

Yes — 24-hour expedited service for $100 additional fee on top of the $150 filing fee. Standard online filing is typically 10 business days. Expedite is processed at the Illinois Secretary of State’s Springfield office. Source: ilsos.gov.

Does Illinois allow Series LLCs?

Yes. Illinois is one of 4 states (with Delaware, Texas, Wyoming among the popular ones) that allow Series LLCs. The IL Series LLC filing fee is $400 (vs $150 for a regular LLC). Each series within the master LLC has separate liability shielding. Common pattern for Chicago real estate investors holding multiple properties. Source: ilsos.gov Series LLC.

Should I form a PLLC instead of a regular LLC in Illinois?

If you’re a licensed professional in Illinois — physician, attorney, dentist, CPA, architect, engineer, veterinarian, or one of about 20 other regulated professions — Illinois law typically requires you to form a Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC), not a standard LLC. The PLLC filing fee is $250 (vs $150 for a regular LLC), filed on Form LLC-5.5(P). Each member must hold an active Illinois license in the same profession. The PLLC structure preserves personal liability for malpractice (you can’t shield yourself from professional negligence) but does shield owners from each other’s malpractice and from non-malpractice business liabilities like landlord disputes. The American Bar Association Section of Business Law maintains state-by-state PLLC formation guides.

How does the Personal Property Replacement Tax interact with federal taxes?

PPRT is paid by the LLC entity (multi-member partnership) at 1.5% of net Illinois income, then the partners separately pay Illinois personal income tax (4.95% flat) on their distributive share. For federal purposes, PPRT is deductible as a state and local tax (SALT) on the partnership’s Form 1065, reducing federal partnership income before it flows to partners’ personal returns. The IRS treats PPRT as an entity-level tax similar to a state corporate income tax. See IRS Illinois Small Business Resources and IRS Publication 3402 for the federal classification framework.

State quirk: PPRT, the 1979 holdover that still surprises founders

Illinois has the Personal Property Replacement Tax (PPRT) — a 1.5% net-income tax on multi-member LLCs taxed as partnerships, plus 0.0025% on partnership income from sources within Illinois — that exists nowhere else in the country. PPRT was created by the 1979 Illinois Constitutional amendment that abolished the state’s personal property tax on businesses; the legislature replaced the lost local-government revenue with the PPRT, channeled through the Illinois Department of Revenue and redistributed back to local taxing districts. Illinois is also one of only four popular states that authorize Series LLCs (along with DE, TX, WY), but charges $400 for the Series LLC filing — nearly triple the regular LLC fee — making Series LLCs cost-effective only when the master entity will hold three or more series-protected assets.

Common mistake in Illinois

The most expensive Illinois LLC mistake is forming a multi-member LLC for a Chicago side-business and discovering at tax time that the entity owes 1.5% PPRT on net income to the Illinois Department of Revenue — a tax that doesn’t exist in any other state and isn’t on most general LLC checklists. Founders sometimes restructure to single-member by buying out a co-founder just to escape PPRT, which is messy and triggers a partnership-termination event for federal purposes.

Sources

1. Illinois Secretary of State LLC Information — last verified 2026-04-25
2. Illinois Department of Revenue — last verified 2026-04-25
3. MyTax Illinois Business Registration — last verified 2026-04-25
4. Illinois Compiled Statutes Chapter 805 LLC Act — last verified 2026-04-25
5. IRS Illinois Small Business and Self-Employed Resources — last verified 2026-04-25
6. American Bar Association Section of Business Law — last verified 2026-04-25

About the author

Aissam Baidi is the founder and researcher behind llcformationcost.com. He verifies Illinois LLC fees directly from ilsos.gov and tax.illinois.gov on a quarterly cycle. Connect on LinkedIn.

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Not legal advice. Estimates based on publicly available data from each state’s Secretary of State office. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.